


My Leo

by DarkenedHeart



Category: Charmed (TV)
Genre: 'Memory Demons', Abduction, Angry!Piper, Demons, F/M, Family, Happy Ending, Human!Leo, Kidnapping, Made Up Demons, My First Work in This Fandom, Protective!Piper, References to other episodes., Rescue, Set around Season 7, Wyatt and Chris have very SMALL parts..., non-consentual kissing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-27
Updated: 2016-11-27
Packaged: 2018-09-02 11:52:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,196
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8666440
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DarkenedHeart/pseuds/DarkenedHeart
Summary: (Set around Season 7) Human Leo is at home with the boys, all three sisters are out of the house doing their regular jobs, and a demon arrives!The demon wants Leo's memories. "Being a whitelighter alone will have so much to offer me, but I know you've experienced even more."Will the Charmed Ones be able to save Leo? Or will he be lost to them forever?





	

Piper is at P3, Phoebe is working at The Bay Mirror, and Paige is at magic school.

　

Leo closes the nursery door with a tired sigh. Wyatt and Chris are down for their nap, the older of the two boys had given his father a run for his money over it.

　

Leo chuckles as he heads downstairs for something to drink, baby monitor in hand. He can't imagine how difficult it's going to be to get his son to listen to him in the future. Parenthood was scarier than fighting demons.

　

Leo is on the halfway mark for the stairs when he sees something shimmer and a woman in a black robe appears at the bottom step.

　

Fear spikes in Leo's chest as he tries to call for his whitelighter sister-in-law, "Pa-!"

　

The demon extends her hand towards the man, choking him with her powers and stopping the rest of the name from forming.

　

 _'Wyatt and Chris!'_ Leo desperately thinks as the monitor falls from his hand and the woman starts up the stairs for him. _'I have to protect the boys!'_

　

"Don't worry about your sons, Leo," the demon smiles at the man's confusion and shock. "I'm not here for them."

　

She leans closer, her hand actually moving to wrap around her captive's throat.

　

"I'm here for you."

　

The phone rings. The demon drags Leo down the stairs and picks it up.

　

"Hello?" the demon answers.

　

"Le-oh, you are not Leo," Phoebe's voice goes from a happy greeting to a confused mumble. "Uh, sorry, who are you?"

　

"I'm the demon who is taking your sister's husband," the demon answers, pleased to hear a small gasp from the other end of the phone. "Would you mind babysitting the boys while we're gone?"

　

"Listen to me you bi-"

　

The demon hangs up, her eyes moving back to the man still trying to break free from her grip.

　

"There you go," she smiles at the man. "Now that you know the boys will be taken care of, why don't we go somewhere private to talk?"

　

The demon shimmers out of the house with Leo.

　

 

　

Phoebe and Paige orb into the house seconds later.

　

"Leo?" Phoebe shouts, running around the bottom floor to check for the man. "Leo?"

　

Paige heads up the stairs while her sister checks the lower floor. She finds the monitor and frowns, then runs faster as she continues up the rest of the stairs. She opens each door, only pausing at the nursery to double check on the sleeping boys she finds there.

　

Phoebe catches up with her sister as she starts upstairs to the attic. There's no sign of Leo anywhere.

　

"Any idea who took him?" Paige asks after their search turns up nothing.

　

"Other than the fact the demon was a woman, no," Phoebe frowns, her fingers nervously starting to tie themselves in knots. "Piper is not going to like this."

　

"What is Piper not going to like?" the eldest of the sisters asks as she joins them in the attic.

　

Phoebe screams in surprise, running behind Paige who raises a hand at the woman.

　

"Paige, Phoebe, what are you doing home so early?" Piper asks, hands resting at her hips as she waits for an answer. "And what is it I'm not going to like?"

　

"I called home to talk to Leo," Phoebe starts, still hiding behind her younger sister. "But instead of him answering, some woman answered."

　

"What?" Piper snaps, body jerking with her anger.

　

"It's not that he's cheating on you, honey!" the middle sister assures the other woman. "He was kidnapped by a demon. But the boys are fine! We checked."

　

"What?" Piper repeats, taking two threatening steps closer to her sisters. "Why am I just learning this now?"

　

"Because we just got here now," Paige speaks up. "Phoebe called me and I orbed us here, but there was no sign of Leo." the woman's head tilts to the side, "Why are you here at this time in the day? I thought you were working at the club."

　

"I was, but I thought I'd come home to surprise my husband with a lunch date. Instead, I get to come home to find out he's been taken from me. Again!"

　

Piper walks over to the scrying crystal and maps, takes them up in her arms, then walks out of the attic in a controlled rage.

　

"I think she took that well," Phoebe remarks with a pained smile as the echoes of their sister's footsteps pound loudly through the air.

　

"Yeah," Paige huffs sarcastically. "Like a trooper."

　

"Let's just go get Leo back before Piper starts blowing things up," Phoebe remarks, chasing after her sister as she talks. Paige quickly follows her.

　

\---

　

Leo wakes to a cold floor under his back and a warm fire near his face. He opens his eyes to take in his surroundings. It looks like the Underworld to him. He moves to sit up and something clangs as his wrist feel heavy to lift. Looking down, he realizes his wrists have been shackled.

　

 _'As if I'd be able to get out of here,_ ' Leo thinks with a frown. Without his powers, there's no way for him to travel between worlds. He was trapped there, shackles or not.

　

"I know they're a bit over-the-top, but," the demon from before saunters into the room with a pleased smile. "You can't blame a girl for wanting a dramatic flair."

　

"What do you want from me?" Leo asks, getting to his feet. The shackles have plenty of give to stand and take a few steps, but not much more than that.

　

"I am a collector, Leo," the demon explains as she steps even closer. "I collect magical items, some times animals, but my favorite things to collect..." she pauses to raise a finger to the man's head. "Are memories."

　

Leo stiffens. The elders already took his memories once. He wasn't interested in losing them again. Still, he asks, "What?"

　

"Being a whitelighter alone will have so much to offer me, but I know you've experienced even more," the demon continues. She raises her hands, pushing Leo back until he hits the wall, body unable to move.

　

"There is so much in this small sphere," the demons says reverently as she puts one hand on either side of Leo's head. "I can't wait to experience every last second of it."

　

"Whatever your plans are, the Charmed Ones will stop you," Leo says confidently. He knows his wife won't give up till she finds him. A proud part of him can't wait for her to come orbing in with Paige to blast the demon into a million pieces.

　

"They can try," the demon grins, moving her lips to sit dangerously close to her captive's. "But I don't think they will."

　

The demon puts her lips on Leo's and the world darkens around them...Leo is pulled back, back, back to his earliest memories. When he was a little boy and sitting on his grandfather's lap to learn how to get coins from people's ears.

　

 _'This has nothing to do with magic,'_ Present Leo thinks as he watches himself be amazed at the simple trick.

　

"Oh, I wouldn't say that," the demon coos from where she stands next to him.

　

Leo tries to attack the woman but he falls through her, then through the wall, until he lands on his face outside his childhood home.

　

The demon steps in front of her captive as he pushes himself up to stand.

　

"We're in your memories," the demon tells him with a look of disapproval. "You can watch, but you can't touch. That includes me."

　

"Why am I here too?" Leo snaps, tired of being so powerless. It was bad enough he couldn't do much to protect his family, now he couldn't even protect himself.

　

The demon smiles, "I like to watch with my victims. The feelings they have while seeing their lives play out again before their eyes is almost as delicious as the memories themselves."

　

"The Charmed Ones will stop you," Leo repeats with more conviction. "Maybe if you let me go, you'll be spared."

　

The demon laughs, the noise sending crackling thunder through the air.

　

"Oh, Leo, my poor, lost soul," the woman sighs. "You are never being rescued, because your beloved wife and her sisters will never be able to find me. I live on an entirely new plane of existence. I learned how do make it from one of my collections long ago."

　

The demon steps over to her victim as her words sink in and cause his breath to catch and his eyes to widen in panic.

　

"You are never leaving this place," she says smoothly. "Ever."

　

\---

 

"Why isn't this working?!" Piper snaps, tossing the scrying crystal onto the maps angrily as she stomps to her feet. Her eyes glare over to Phoebe who was hovering nearby,

　

"Where are the boys? Where's Paige?"

　

"Uh, Paige took them to magic school, just in case," Phoebe stutters nervously. "She'll be right back. Then we'll figure this all out. You just need to breathe, honey."

　

"Breathing does not get my husband back!" the older sister shouts. "PAIGE!"

　

Paige orbs into the room, expression alarmed as she looks between her two sisters, "What? What happened? Did you find Leo?"

　

"No," Piper starts slowly. "I did NOT find Leo. I CANNOT find Leo and it is making me very upset, but all my sister can offer me is to BREATHE!"

　

"Okay," Paige steps over to her eldest sister and takes her by the hands. "You're going to need to actually listen to that advice because, if not, you're more likely to damage something in the manor than be able to figure anything out."

　

After a long, hard glare, Piper relents with an eye roll and takes a deep breath.

　

"There you go, sweaty," Paige smiles at her sister. "One more. Let all the frustration leave your body and clear your mind."

　

Piper takes another breath, then pulls her hands from her sister's.

　

"I'm still angry."

　

"Which is fine," Paige counters. "Let's just use that anger constructively to think of how we can track and find Leo."

　

"Are you sure you have no idea who took him?" Piper repeats to her middle sister.

　

"No idea, other than she was a woman," Phoebe shrugs. "I'm sorry, Piper. It was a very short phone call."

　

"Why did the demon even answer the phone?" Paige wonders aloud.

　

"I don't care!" Piper's anger flares again. "She was probably trying to rack up my phone bill while simultaneously stealing my husband!"

　

"Maybe the elders will know," Phoebe suggests before her sister can get into another fit of rage. "They're always watching, right? They must know something. Or at least have an idea, or suggestion?"

　

"They better have something, and this better not be connected to them, because so help me..." Piper doesn't finish her sentence. She just storms out of the kitchen to go to the conservatory in order to summon an elder.

　

\---

　

"No!" Leo shouts as he wakes from the memory of losing one of his first charges. It was a young witch who came into her power too soon. Tears streak down his face and he furiously wipes at them as he looks around for the demon.

　

The demon wasn't in the room, so Leo turns his focus on his shackles. They're too strong and thick for him to remove or break. He's just starting to see if he can twist his wrists out, when the demon shimmers into the room with a paper bag.

　

"Don't bother, Leo," she sighs, placing the bag at her captive's feet. "Maybe after a few decades of being here I'll remove those, but no sooner."

　

"Decades?" Leo repeats, ignoring the bag to glare up at the demon. "You're awfully cocky to think you'll be able to keep me here that long."

　

"It's not ego, it's fact," the woman counters with a roll of her eyes. "I've kept many a creature in my grasp, even before I created this world. I even had an avatar at one point, though not for nearly as long as I will have you."

　

"You had an avatar here?" Leo can't believe that. The avatars were connected, linked. If one of them was captured the others would know.

　

"Normally, yes, being linked would make it difficult, but I had a special stone that inhibited that," the demon crouches down to be at eye level with her captive. "If you haven't already guess, I can also read my victim's minds. You're current thoughts are not nearly as much fun as your memories."

　

Leo had assumed the demon was reading his mind, so the affirmation wasn't really needed.

　

"Do you know what I'm thinking now?" he asks, imagining all the ways the sisters could vanquish the demon.

　

The demon clicks her tongue, "Naughty-naughty, Leo. What ever will I do with you?"

　

She rises to her full height and points to the brown bag, "You better eat. Taking the memories of the dead is not nearly as much fun. They get tainted and blur, far less vibrant than when the subject is living."

　

"Then maybe I'll just refuse," Leo counters, still ignoring the bag as he glares up at the woman.

　

"Now, that's just plain petty, Leo," the demon smiles. "I suppose I could go for one of your boys instead. He's still little, but Wyatt already has plenty of experiences to enjoy."

　

"You leave my family alone!" Leo snaps, trying to reach for the demon, but just falling short of touching her.

　

"Temper, temper," the demon laughs lightly. "I think that's what makes you and Piper such a great couple. You both have these wonderful outburst of passion when it comes to the ones you love."

　

Leo drops his hands since he can't reach the woman and thinks of every horrible thing that could happen to a demon.

　

"Eat your food, Leo," the woman orders him calmly. "I'll be back in a little while to enjoy more of your memories."

　

The demon shimmers out of the room and Leo's legs refuse to support him anymore as he eases himself back to a sitting position. He looks into the bag and takes out the sandwich and bottle of water he finds inside. His stomach clenches tightly at the thought of food, but he doesn't want to risk sending the demon after his family, so he forces himself to eat.

　

Each bite tastes like sandpaper but he powers through it until everything is gone and the empty containers are returned to the bag.

　

 _'Don't know why I'm bothering to clean up,'_ Leo muses as he moves back to rest against a wall. Bending his legs, he rests his arms against his knees and stares at the shackles.

　

One hand reaches over and starts to twist it once more.

　

\---

　

"What do you mean you have no idea where Leo is?!"

　

Piper almost charges the elder, but Paige and Phoebe hold her back.

　

"I'm sorry, Piper," the elder actually sounds genuinely apologetic, but they always did. Even when they weren't. "I asked every elder I could find. No one knows who took Leo, where, or why. We're just as shocked at this development as you are."

　

"Cut the crap, this is another one of your 'tests' or 'greater good' lesson thingies, right?" Piper tries to charge the robed individual but her sisters keep a firm hold on her. "You people need to stop separating me from my husband! We have two children to take care of and he's even mortal now. So just cut it out!"

　

"We didn't do this, Piper," the elder repeats, face one of sympathy. "If we hear anything, we will contact you. I am sorry this has happened."

　

The elder orbs out of the room.

　

"No, you don't get back here!" Piper shouts after him, but her sisters are still keeping her in place. She turns on them, "Will you two knock it off?"

　

"Just as soon as you stop trying to go momma bear crazy on us," Phoebe counters. "Listen, we want to find Leo just as much as you do-"

　

"Oh, I highly doubt that, Phoebe!"

　

"But," her sister adds firmly. "Shouting at people who aren't responsible, and might be able to help, is not the way to do it!"

　

"Let me go!"

　

The two sisters let go of the third and Piper stomps over to where the elder had stood.

　

"What do you suggest we do?" the eldest ask as she crosses her arms. "Sit around and hope the demon returns to gloat?"

　

"Some times they do that," Paige shrugs. Phoebe smacks her in the arm. "Ouch!"

　

"The only thing I can think of to do is to start summoning every female demon we can and trap them in the crystals to see if they've taken Leo," Phoebe says. "If the elders can figure out the who or even the why, then we can change our focus but it seems like the best plan here."

　

"Yeah? And how long do you think it will take to go through all the demonic wenches in the Book of Shadows?" Piper steams.

　

"Well, it's better than shouting and glaring," her sister throws her hands in the air. "I can't sense anything. Scrying doesn't work. Process of elimination is our only hope."

　

"Plus," Paige adds when she sees her oldest sister is about to protest. "Maybe one of the demons we summon will know who took Leo. They talk amongst themselves, right?"

　

"Somebody's gonna talk alright," Piper states as she storms up the stairs. "They're going to spill their guts over that attic, one way or another!"

　

"After this, I'll be surprised if Piper doesn't force Leo to stay at magic school full time," Paige mumbles to Phoebe as they follow their other sister to the attic.

　

"You kidding me?" Phoebe counters just as quietly. "She won't even let him be out of her sight for a week once we get him back."

　

"Paige! Phoebe! Why are you dragging your feet! We've got demons to vanquish!"

　

"Coming!" the sisters chime together.

 

\---

　

Leo's wrist is red and bleeding from the constant turning of the shackle. He winces at the pain as the motion and contact burns, but he refuses to stop. He refuses to give up.

　

The blood is making his wrist slippery and he almost has the shackle off his hand. It's slightly stuck in the middle, his thumb feels like it's going to break as he switches his grip on the metal to pull the shackle.

　

Leo falls backwards as one hand comes free. He lets out a small laugh of victory as he sits back up, dropping the shackle to look his wrist over.

　

"Such a small victory, I hate to make it all be in vain."

　

Leo's shoulders sag as he looks up at the demon. She wiggles her fingers at him as he holds his bleeding wrist protectively against his chest.

　

"I could just put it back on you," the demon points out. "Then you'd have to start all over again. Or I could put it on your ankle. It would be impossible to get it off from there. Unless you cut your foot off, but I don't think you could do that."

　

"What do you want?" Leo asks, even though he already knows the answer.

　

"I'm here for another dip into the mental wave pool you've got in that head of yours," the demon crooks her finger. "Up we go, pretty boy. I don't like to lie down in the dirt."

　

"I refuse," Leo says valiantly.

　

"Did you forget about your baby boys? About your wife and her two sisters?" the demon pouts down at her victim. "Why must you make me keep threatening them? Do you need proof of my sincerity? Do you actually want me to hurt them?"

　

"You couldn't hurt them if you tried," Leo counters with a smirk. "You're just a low level demon with high thoughts of grandeur. All you can do is snatch mortals. You're no match for the Charmed Ones."

　

"Oh! So snippy!" the demon laughs. "I love it! Ah, but I see what you're doing though, Leo. I know your thoughts."

　

The demon lifts Leo with her powers as she walks over to him. She strokes the side of his face with one finger as he tries to turn away with a grimace.

　

"You want me to expose myself to them so that they can track me. You think that if they know who took you, they can find their way here to kill me and get you back."

　

She leans close to the side of Leo's face, her lips leaving feather light kisses on his neck as he struggles to move away from her.

　

"If you don't want to obey, that's fine," the demon murmurs against her victim's skin. "I'll just take what I want by force."

　

The demon pulls back enough to wrap her hands around Leo's head and pull him in for a kiss.

　

The world darkens around them as Leo is pulled back once more towards his memories...

 

\---

　

"I don't know anything about your husband being taken!" the woman trapped in the crystal prison screams. "Please! Stop!"

　

"Fine!" Piper opens her hands at the demon and blows her up. She looks down at the book, "Next!"

　

"That's her fourth demon in less than an hour," Paige whispers to Phoebe from her spot next to her sister where they were making potions.

　

"Well, it's not like she's harming an innocent," Phoebe whispers back as she adds another ingredient. "What would you rather she do, draw it out?"

　

"No, but-"

　

"Through this land and beyond space, reveal this demon to my face!" Piper chants, making another woman appear inside the crystal prison.

　

"Who are you? Why am I here?" the demon demands.

　

Piper uses the crystals to hurt the demon, making the creature scream out in pain.

　

"I'm going to ask the questions," the witch states. "Where is my husband?"

　

"Who?" the demon asks, getting another shock from the crystals.

　

"Where is Leo? Former whitelighter? Husband of the Charmed One?" Piper lifts her hand to activate the crystals again but the demon throws her hands up and begs her to stop.

　

"I do not know where he is, BUT!" the demon quickly adds before the witch can hurt her again. "I know what type of demon took him."

　

Piper uses the crystals to hurt the demon anyway before asking, "Get on with it!"

　

Paige and Phoebe quickly walk over to their sister as the demon catches their breath.

　

"I overheard some memory demons talking about one of their own having a man with many years of memories to feast upon."

　

"Feast upon?" Phoebe repeats as her sister hurts the demon again.

　

"Piper!" Paige scolds her sister, grabbing her hands to stop her from doing it again.

　

"What?" the eldest asks defensively.

　

"What do you mean by 'feast upon'?" Phoebe repeats her question.

　

"Memory demons gain strength by experiencing memories from other creatures," the demon explains. "The more memories they re-live with their victims, the more powerful they become."

　

Piper moves her hand to use the crystals, but Paige stops her.

　

"How do we find these memory demons?" the youngest sibling asks.

　

"A few of them roam the Underworld, more still hide on earth, but one is rumored to live on an entirely new plane of existence."

　

"New plane of existence?" Piper growls. "What do you mean?"

　

"From what I can tell, a powerful memory demon has created another world for themselves. I don't know if it's true, we demons tend to exaggerate."

　

"What do you know, even demons like to boost their egos" Paige rolls her eyes.

　

"Do you know the name of the memory demon who lives on the new plane?" Phoebe asks.

　

"MacBeth," the demon replies. "Now, may I leave?"

　

"Oh, sure," Piper smiles. She turns to her sister still holding her and raises and eyebrow. Slowly, Paige lets go of her sister.

　

"Thank you," Piper says, then she turns back to the demon and blows her up.

　

"Piper-!" Paige starts to protest, but her sister is already looking in the Book of Shadows for information on memory demons.

　

\---

　

_"You don't know me! You don't know me!"_

　

_"We both have the same problem, you and I. Neither of us trust this new world. And we're both going to have to do something about it."_

　

Leo drops back to the ground in a heap, his brain on fire with the last memory of him working with Zankou to defeat the avatars.

　

"Sorry about that, Leo," the demon says lightly as she steps away. "It's easier on the mind if I go progressively slow, but I couldn't help but skip to the best parts."

　

The demon closes her eyes as she takes in a deep breath and lets it out in a long, content sigh.

　

"How wondrous are your memories," the demon opens her eyes again. "Even if so many of them are painful."

　

Leo ignores the woman as he covers his face and tries to get his mind to calm down. The images are still running rampant in his head: future Chris beating him in the cave, Zankou telling him the Egyptian history of the avatars, and all the scenes in between.

　

It feels as if burning hot lava was poured into his head.

　

"If only you could still self-heal," the demon remarks with a smirk. "But, then again, you're not supposed to use healing powers for yourself. Am I right?"

　

Leo doesn't answer. Everything hurts. The pain in his head is spreading throughout his body and intensifying when it reaches the wound on his wrist.

　

"Maybe I over did it a little," the demon frowns, staring down at her victim. "I'll have to trace back a little and start from another point. Maybe to the first time you met the Charmed Ones? Won't those memories be fun!"

　

The demon chuckles as she shimmers out of the room. Leo curls into a tighter ball as the pain increases even more.

　

\---

　

"Ha! Got the little tramp!" Piper smacks page with the information on the demon and looks up to her sisters. "Either of you got some truth potions in case this hag tries to lie to me about Leo?"

　

"We've got some options if she survives your wrath," Phoebe answers through a pained smile.

　

"Whatever that means," Piper grumbles, looking down to her pad to write a summoning spell specifically for MacBeth.

　

"You've got to talk to her," Paige nudges Phoebe.

　

"Oh, no, you do!" Phoebe nudges her back.

　

"You've known her longer!"

　

"Exactly! She'll have less dirt on you!"

　

"Stop your hushed squabbling and get ready for some answers," Piper orders her sisters as she lifts the pad to read:

　

"Listen well and heed my voice, bring me the memory demon of my choice, the name I say with this next breath, bring me the demon named MacBeth."

　

All three sisters look towards the crystals, but nothing happens.

　

"Didn't the demon say she was powerful?" Paige points out after a few moments of more nothing.

　

"Maybe the summoning requires the Power of Three?"

　

"Then get over here!" Piper snaps.

　

The two sisters run to the third's side and they all say the spell.

　

A grey cloud appears with a crack of thunder, then vanishes away as a female demon in a black robe looks around in surprise at her surroundings.

　

"Interesting turn of events," MacBeth marvels as she locks eyes with Piper. "Hello, Piper, how are the boys? At magic school, I suppose?"

　

Piper moves to use the crystals, but her two sisters stop her.

　

"Wait, we need to figure out where she had Leo first!" Paige points out as she holds her sister back.

　

"Where is my husband you wench?" Piper snaps as she finally pushes her sisters away.

　

"He got put away," the demon smiles. "I wish you could see the way he looks at you, Piper. All the love in his eyes. It's sickeningly sweet, really."

　

Phoebe is the one to use the crystals, but the demon merely grunts at the pain, her smile still in place.

　

"Where. Is. Leo?" Piper repeats the question.

　

"Far. A-Way," MacBeth mocks. She laughs when the crystals hurt her again. "I'm not afraid of you Charmed Ones. Even after your brave Leo showed me all the ways you can kill me."

　

Piper hits the demon with her powers, not enough to kill her, just enough to blast a hole in her arm. The demon shouts out in pain as she wraps the wound with a hand.

　

"Did he show you that one?" Piper glares at the demon. "Tell me where my husband is. NOW."

　

"Oh, but there's still so much I haven't seen!" MacBeth laughs, blood seeping through her fingers as she holds tightly to her wound. "Leo is such a tortured soul. So much has happened to him. So much glorious pain!"

　

Paige uses the crystals and the demon laughs once more.

　

"Ah! But he has such a loving family as well!" the demon continues. "So much love, caring, consideration! Two boys who worship the ground he walks on!"

　

Piper blasts the demon's other arm, eliciting a scream that takes away the vile woman's smile.

　

"What is with her?" Paige asks her sisters. "Does she have no sense of self-preservation?"

　

"Self-preservation," the demon laughs, looking over her new wound. She lifts her bloody fingers to her mouth and gives them a lick.

　

"Ew! Gross!" Phoebe shakes her head in disgust.

　

"If I tell you where Leo is, you kill me," MacBeth says, smile returning. "If I don't, you kill me. At least this way, I get some fun out of it."

　

"Fun?" Piper uses the crystals to shock the demon. "This is fun to you?"

　

She shock the demon two more times.

　

"Yes!" the demon cackles. "Oh, oh, no," the woman wavers in her prison, her shoulder hitting the force field before she can regain her balance.

　

"Do you see the dilemma yet?" MacBeth eyes the sisters with a small wince. "Leo is mortal, lost only I know where. If you don't get to him in time, he'll starve to death."

　

"If he'll have time for that, then you must have put him somewhere safe," Phoebe realizes.

　

"As long as my fellow demons don't figure out my hiding place," the demon nods. "But what guarantee do you have that won't happen?"

　

"Phoebe, get a premonition off of her," Piper orders her sister.

　

"Not while she's conscious!" Phoebe counters rationally.

　

"Fine! Paige?"

　

"What do you expect me to do?" Paige asks, bewildered.

　

"Well, what the heck were the two of you doing over there with the brewing pot? Making brownies?"

　

"Right! Okay," Paige runs to the potions and grabs one that will put the demon to sleep. "Here goes nothing."

　

The potion hits the floor, smoke billows up from it, and the demon passes out.

　

Piper looks expectantly at her middle sister. When she doesn't move, she snaps, "Phoebe!"

　

"How do we know she isn't faking it?" Phoebe asks with a worried frown.

　

"If she is, I'll blast her," Piper assures her angrily. "Now get in there and premonition away!"

　

"Oh, fine," the younger sister grumbles, moving a crystal out of the way to get at the demon. She reaches down and touches a hand, then gasps.

　

* 'Leo in chains.' * 'A place that looks like the Underworld.' * 'Leo in pain.' *

　

Phoebe stumbles back, away from the demon, and Paige returns the crystal.

　

"What did you see?" Piper asks as she steps in front of her still recovering sister.

　

"Uhm..." Phoebe quickly collects herself to answer. "Not good stuff, but it looked like Leo was in the Underworld."

　

"That can't be, because Piper would have found him with the crystal," Paige points out.

　

"What do you mean 'not good stuff'?" Piper asks, ignoring her other sister.

　

"I don't think I'll be able to get a location from her," Phoebe deflect the question. "Maybe we should go to the Underworld and try to look for him?"

　

"The entire Underworld?" Paige asks, incredulously.

　

"What 'not good stuff', Phoebe?" Piper raises her voice to an almost shout.

　

Her sister caves under the pressure, "Leo was chained and in pain."

　

"What?!" Piper snaps, something off to the right explodes.

　

"Woah there, sister," Paige puts a hand on her sister's shoulder. "Keep it together. You don't want to get us killed by accident, do you?"

　

"I can't believe this," Piper steps away from her sisters to pace. "I leave the man alone for a few hours and he gets himself whisked away by psycho demon over there. Why can't I just have a normal day? Just one? Would it injure the cosmos, the grand design, or whatever to leave me and my family alone?"

　

Phoebe looks down to their captured demon as an idea forms in her head.

　

She looks up to her sisters, fingers interlacing for something to do.

　

"I think I have an plan."

　

Piper jerks her head towards her sister, hair flying out to wrap around her neck.

　

"Am I going to like it?"

　

"Probably not."

　

The eldest sister narrows her eyes, "Then it better work."

　

\---

　

Leo lays on his back, exhausted. His mind had finally calmed and the burning had eased everywhere but on his wounded wrist. He's places the injury on top of his chest as he stares up at the blackness of the sky above.

　

He knows he should be trying to get the other shackle off, see if he can figure out where he was and if there was any way to get back home....

　

But, he's too tired. The blackness of the sky becomes the darkness of the inside of his eyelids. He's just going to rest. Just for a minute.

　

Then he'll have the strength to get the other shackle off. Assuming Piper or her sisters didn't get to him first.

　

_"He sensed his Daddy in trouble."_

　

Leo smiles at the memory of his wife and Wyatt as a newborn leaning over him after releasing him from his watery prison.

　

That was one thing about his current ordeal that he could enjoy: the good memories the demon brought up. Leo lets the memory play out in his head as he falls asleep.

　

\---

　

MacBeth wakes with bandages on her arms. She huffs a surprised laugh as she gets to her feet, looking around for the witches.

　

Piper steps into the room with a potion and startles to see their captive awake.

　

"Is this the part where you vanquish me?" the demon smiles at the woman. "I've seen it before, you know. It never ceases to amaze Leo how strong you are in the face of danger."

　

"Stop talking about my husband like you know him!" Piper orders the woman, stepping right up to the force field. "This is your last chance. Tell me where Leo is!"

　

"Up the creek without a paddle," MacBeth replies. "I wish I did this sooner. You Charmed Ones are so much fun to deal with."

　

"You know what?" Piper uses the crystals to hurt the demon. "I can't wait to blast you into a million pieces and put you back together again. Leo ever show you that, huh? I bet not. After you die a few times, I'm sure you'll be less smiley."

　

"I've looked into the many faces of death and never cringed," the demon says. "What would make my own any worse than theirs?"

　

"Never mind then," Piper says, standing back. "Plan B, I vanquish you and hope your death brings my husband back."

　

"Hope?" MacBeth repeats a little amazed. "Quite a long shot over something so feeble. Even for a powerful witch like yourself."

　

"Piper!" Phoebe appears in the attic, eyes wide as she stares at her sister. "Put that thing down! You can't risk losing Leo forever!"

　

"I've already lost him!" Piper shouts back. "I might as well make this demon pay for it!"

　

Paige orbs next to her sister and takes the potion from her hands.

　

"Hey!" the eldest sister snaps. "Give that back!"

　

Paige holds it out of arms reach, "This is for your own good, Piper! And Leo's!"

　

MacBeth glances down at the crystals near the witches feet and smirks.

　

"Such sibling hostility," the demon muses. "Why is that, I wonder? Is it because of Prue?"

　

"Now she's done it!" Piper rips the potion out of her sister's hands. "Die!"

　

Paige lunges for the potion, her foot knocking away one of the crystals as she catches it before it can break against the floor.

　

MacBeth shimmers away from the crystals to the other side of the room. She waves a hand at the angry and startled sisters.

　

"I'll tell Leo you said hi," the demon tells them, then shimmers away completely.

　

 

　

The sisters wait in silence for a beat, then Paige looks over to Phoebe.

　

"Do you think she bought it?"

　

"There's only one way to find out," Phoebe starts to run down the stairs, her sisters following right behind her.

　

"You still got a piece of that skank's clothing?" Piper asks as they near the kitchen.

　

"Yup, straight from the skank's shirt," her sister replies as they walk through the swinging door and towards a boiling pot waiting for them. Pheobe quickly drops the piece of cloth into the liquid and it causes a slight explosion.

　

"What if the demon really does have Leo on another plane of existence?" Paige asks as her sister bottles the potion.

　

"You heard demon number five," Phoebe says, eyes focused on her work. "They tend to exaggerate."

　

"Not to mention the fact that this tracking and teleportation potion will bring us right to them, regardless of where they are," Piper adds, watching her middle sister closely.

　

Pheobe holds up the potion after capping it, then walks with her sisters to the conservatory.

　

"Let's go find out if liars can tell the truth," Paige remarks.

　

"I get to kill MacBeth," Piper announces as she hands out vanquishing potions to Pheobe and Paige.

　

"Of course," her sisters nod in agreement.

　

Phoebe throws the potion to the ground. The smoke curls up around them and takes them to the demon and, hopefully, Leo.

　

\---

　

Leo startles awake to a hand on his shoulder.

　

The demon smiles down at the man as he pulls away from her touch.

　

"What happened?" Leo nods to the bandages on the woman's arms. "The Charmed One turn out to be more than you bargained for?"

　

"Your wife is a real spitfire," the demon answers. "I enjoyed our conversation immensely."

　

"You won't be surviving your next one with her," Leo says, moving further away from the demon until his back hits a wall.

　

"I won't be going back to her," the demon says. "Not if I can help it, and for that, I need you."

　

"Me?" Leo can't imagine what his captor means. "I won't help you."

　

"Not consciously, no," the demon smiles, using her powers to pull the man to his feet. "But there is probably something in your memories that will help me."

　

'Not again,' Leo's heart pounds harder in his chest as the demon steps closer.

　

"Stay away from him!"

　

Piper throws the potion at the demon's feet. It explodes, sending smoke up towards the woman's face. The demon screams, her powers letting go of Leo as she turns to ash where she stood.

　

"Oh, honey," Piper runs to her husband and wraps her arms around him. "Are you okay? Did she hurt you badly? What happened?"

　

"I'm fine," Leo assures his wife, hugging her a little tighter before forcing himself to let her go. "I could use some help getting this off though."

　

He moves his hand with the shackle and his wife instantly flicks her fingers at it, exploding it into pieces.

　

Piper takes both of Leo's hands in hers to inspect them. She frowns when she sees they're both red and swollen. The frown deepens as her eyes focus on the bleeding wrist.

　

"Do you think we could have this lovely moment in another location?" Phoebe asks awkwardly, not wanting to interrupt her family while at the same time really wanted to be somewhere safer.

　

"All aboard the Paige express," Paige brings everyone into a huddle and orbs them back home.

 

\---

 

As Phoebe and Paige go to magic school to get the boys, Piper tends to her husband's wounds.

　

"I was really worried about you today," Piper says softly as she dabs at the blood with peroxide to clean it away.

　

Leo smiles at his wife, unaware of the pain as he enjoys being with his love once again.

　

"I wasn't worried. I knew you'd come for me."

　

"Eventually," Piper mumbles angrily as she gets a new piece of gauze.

　

"Hey," Leo tilts his wife's face towards him. "It's okay. I'm here. The demon's gone. You have nothing else to worry about."

　

"Except for the fact that this could very well happen again."

　

"I don't think all the demons want me for my memories, Piper."

　

"That's not my point and you know it."

　

"Yeah," Leo sighs. He plants a tender kiss to his wife's forehead. When he pulls back, Piper is wiping at her eyes.

　

"I'm sorry for what you had to go through, Piper," Leo says earnestly, his own eyes watering as he watches his wife wipe at her eyes again.

　

"You're sorry?" Piper repeats. "It's that demon who should be sorry. Should've drawn out her vanquishing a little. Thing didn't die painfully enough."

　

"Come on now, that's not you," Leo puts his hand over his wife's. "Demons are evil, that's their nature. You are a force of good. A force to be reckoned with, I might add."

　

Piper huffs a wet laugh as she looks at her husband.

　

"I love you," Piper tells him. "So much."

　

"I love you too," Leo puts his hand on his wife's cheek and pulls her in for a kiss.

　

Paige orbs into the room with the boys and Phoebe.

　

"Are we interrupting anything?" Phoebe asks, her arms full of baby Chris.

　

"Not at all," Piper answers sarcastically.

　

"Dadda!" Wyatt runs to his father, wrapping his small arms around the man's middle.

　

"Hey, buddy," Leo turns in his seat to pull his son into his lab. "Hi, what did you do today, huh? Did you have fun with the others in magic school?"

　

Wyatt nods his head, his small hands hold onto his father's and he raises the red wrist to eye level.

　

"Boo-boo," the little boy frowns, looking over to his mother as if silently asking for an explanation.

　

"It's nothing, Wyatt," his father assures him. "Daddy's going to be just fine."

　

Leo looks over to his wife, "We all are."

 

With a shake of his head, Wyatt puts the two hands together to kiss them. His small hands glow where they hold his father's wrists, healing the wounds. He smiles up at his father proudly and says, "All better."

 

Piper runs a hand over her son's head, "That's my boy."

 

\--- - --- -- --- - ---

 

**Author's Note:**

> The Show (Charmed) inspired my MacGyver fiction "More Than One Strength". 
> 
> **I am legally inclined to state I own nothing.**


End file.
